Possible Control Measures and the Way Forward

In Nigeria, as in most sub-Saharan African countries, the consumption of raw milk and raw meat remain the major sources of human infection with M. bovis (Muller et al. 2009; Abubakar 2007; Cadmus et al.

Similarly, routine meat inspection (where dedicated veterinarians are present), involving detailed and comprehensive ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections, should be carried out on all animals slaughtered. Importantly, where possible, the entire carcass should be condemned when generalized miliary TB is detected, while entire organs (or their parts) should be condemned when large tuberculous lesions are found in their parenchyma or in the regional lymph nodes. Again, it is very important that efforts should be directed along the entire meat production chain (i.e. from the farm to the abattoir), and to ensure that adequate trace-back is possible to the source of the infected carcasses.

Since the inspection of carcasses in abattoirs remains the critical mitigation point in the food processing chain where BTB can be detected and controlled in Nigeria, it is imperative that the meat inspection services be improved by implementing the following measures:

• Create an optimal working environment and infrastructure (sufficient light source, adequate water) in abattoirs.

• Increase the number of adequately trained and disciplined meat inspectors and support staff.

• Implement regular competency evaluation of meat inspectors to assess their ability to identify lesions consistent with those of BTB in meat and related products.

• Educate butchers and cattle owners to improve cooperation between them and abattoir veterinarians and meat inspectors.

• It is critical that conventional and modern approaches are introduced to allow tracking BTB in Nigeria. Therefore, more personnel and infrastructure must be made available both in the field and in veterinary diagnostic laboratories to properly monitor the disease in animal and human populations.

• Finally, there is a need for improved government policies dealing with the control of BTB and funding of the livestock sector to allow meaningful progress in reducing the menace of BTB in Nigerian cattle herds.

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